1991 GOLF INDUCTEE JERRY HEARD When Jerry Heard was a junior golfer, he-in Johnny Miller’s own words-”beat me like a drum.” They earned their PGA Tour playing card the same year. Heard was a Top 10 player who already had won four tournaments from 1969 to 1974 and by the age of twenty-eight appeared to…
1991 DIVING INDUCTEE RICK EARLEY In the Fresno climate, a good place to be in the summertime,is at one of the nearby lakes, rivers, or swimming pools. Rick Earley found that the latter was one of his favorite places to be. In his early teens, he discovered diving competitions, and by the time he graduated…
1991 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE CHARLES CRAIG The boycott that never happened deprived Charles Craig of an opportunity to represent the United States in the 1968 Olympic Games and a legitimate chance for a medal. The Fresno-born former Central High athlete and NCAA triple jump champion at Fresno State in 1965 was disappointed at the…
1991 VOLLEYBALL INDUCTEE JOHN ALSTROM John Alstrom is arguably the finest volleyball player born and raised in Fresno and the wonderful thing is that he was able to continue playing the sport well into his sixties. Alstrom’s Legends Club won the Over 65 National title and his team went to the World Master Games in…
1990 TRACK & FIELD INDUCTEE MAXIE PARKS Maxie Parks has always loved the outdoors. Born in 1951, the first ten years of his life were spent in a very small town of Aubrey, Arkansas. “Growing up in the country, we didn’t have a lot of sports programs, so we would do things like race each…
1990 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE JIM MOLICH Jim Molich was one of the main targets of quarterback Jackie Fellows on the powerful 1942 Fresno State football team that lost only one of ten games. Molich was born and reared in San Francisco and was part of the great legacy for San Francisco Junior College players that included…
1990 SWIMMING INDUCTEE HEATHER GREENWOOD The popularity of swimming surged in the San Joaquin Valley like a tsunami during the 1960s. It presented an option for youngsters who were not interested in Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, tennis, or gymnastics to participate in something less strenuous or so they thought. Jill Spaulding of Fresno…
1990 AUTO RACING INDUCTEE RAY ELDER If you’ve never heard of the “Racing Farmers” of Caruthers, well, pull up a hay bale, sit a spell, and learn somethin’. Ray Elder sat behind the steering wheel, wore a crash helmet, and put the pedal to the metal. His brother, Richard was inconspicuously in the background, carrying…
1990 FOOTBALL INDUCTEE “SUNNY” BISHOP The Sonny Bishop story is interesting as he played a few minutes of football in his senior year at El Cajon Valley High School and never was a full-time starter in two years at Riverside Junior College. Fresno State was where he blossomed. Bishop was a two-year All-Conference tackle for…
1990 COACHING-BASEBALL INDUCTEE BOB BENNETT Through the years, baseball has probably been the most popular of all sports in Fresno. At the collegiate level, Pete Beiden had a major role in shaping baseball interest while coaching throughout the Valley, settling in to a twenty-one year career as Fresno State’s head baseball coach. When Beiden passed…